28 July 2010

Artwork gift recognises local trust’s dedication to environment

An impressive Project Twin Streams multi-media art project for the Opanuku Stream will be gifted to the Walsh Trust in an unveiling ceremony on August 3.

The collaborative two panel diptych is the work of a group of women, Bella’s Artists, who are members of the Waitakere Central Community Art Council.

Group tutor Lynette McKinstrie will make the presentation to Paul Revill of the Walsh Trust, a provider of community-based mental health support services in West Auckland.

The trust has adopted an area of Opanuku Stream bank and is regularly involved in Project Twin Streams’ planting and clean-up initiatives.

The 12 amateur artists used the stream bank as their inspiration to produce a series of 20 representational works reflecting the area’s flora and fauna.

The series has been assembled into two panels and includes a poem to express what they felt and heard during a visit to the stream.

What: Artwork unveiling
Where: Walsh Trust, 8 Hickory Avenue, Henderson
When: Tuesday, 3 August at 10:30am.

About Project Twin Streams

Project Twin Streams is a community-Waitakere City Council partnership which aims to restore 56km of Waitakere stream banks through an integrated community development approach.

Through the engagement of local communities, the stream banks are weeded, replanted with natives and maintained.

As well as building strong relationships with locals in the Waitakere catchment area, the project aims to raise awareness of stream pollution and how to combat it, through sustainability initiatives that continue to be focused through the artistic endeavours of local schools, communities and iwi.

Project Twin Streams contributes to Waitakere City’s Green Network of bush corridors, clean streams, parks and cycle and walk-ways that criss-cross the city and link the Ranges to the sea.

The project is principally funded by Auckland Regional Holdings (a subsidiary of Auckland Regional Council) with additional resourcing from Waitakere City Council.

The council manages the project and contracts a wide range of community organisations to work with residents and groups in their area. They organise community plantings and work with groups, businesses and schools who adopt specific areas. This means that local organisations with local knowledge are the driving force of the project.

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